Description

Overdose and suicide deaths are the two leading causes of injury related death in the United States, and combined are the 5th leading cause of death overall. Recently, there has been increased research and awareness about both of these important issues; about how prevalent unhealthy opioid use and suicidal thoughts and behaviors are in all segments of society, but, also about how the two issues intersect and each increases risk for the other.

This introductory training explores opioid use and overdose, suicide, and the intersections between the two. Participants will learn to recognize risk and protective factors as well as warning signs that may indicate a person is engaging in unhealthy opioid use or contemplating suicide, and discuss possible interventions to prevent suicide, and refer people to appropriate resources for treatment.

Objectives

Upon completion of this training, participants will:

Describe risk and protective factors and warning signs for both opioid use disorder and suicide.
Identify how unhealthy opioid use can increase the risk for suicidal thoughts and behaviors and vice versa.
List three ways in which adversity and trauma intersect with unhealthy substance use or suicidal thoughts or behaviors.
ACT (Acknowledge, Care, and Tell) to help someone who is experiencing difficulties with substance use or suicidal thoughts or behaviors.

Presenter

Joanna Bridger, LICSW is the Director of Safety, Hope, & Healing Counseling & Consulting. She is on the Executive committee of the Massachusetts Coalition for Suicide Prevention has been the clinical consultant for the Support After Death by Overdose Program (SADOD). She has worked with youth, families, adults, and communities that have experienced trauma and loss in a wide range of settings in the U.S. and abroad for more than 20 years. For ten years she was the Clinical Director for Riverside Trauma Center and provided counseling, critical incident response, clinical consultation, organizational consultation, and training for hundreds of families, schools, and organizations. Prior to that she worked for ten years with people experiencing homelessness in a variety of settings. Joanna has an MSW from the University of Michigan with a concentration in Health, and a Certificate in Traumatic Stress Studies from the Trauma Center at JRI (now the Trauma Research Foundation) and is trained in a wide range of trauma and loss focused therapeutic modalities.